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Man that was a long wait. No wait, the wait is still continuing NOOOOOOO -

on a side and somewhat gloomy note, The Two Goddesses' final chapter is not going to end anytime soon. I've taken upon myself to make a Visual Novel (likely to be kinetic) for my Final Year Project... with only 5 months to spare.

... God I think I'm stupid.

So, any artists and musicians interested in chipping in their help? *raises hand helplessly* need good work ethic and consistency!

Shamal really wasn't sure what to make of the data that she had gotten. She had run at least twenty tests and sighed to herself. "Well, she'll find out sooner or later." She wasn't sure why she was surprised, but shrugged it off. It was almost time for breakfast anyway. Taking a deep breath, she walked out of her room and into a wonderful aroma of smells. When she got to the kitchen, she blinked at three things, Vita, Agito and Zwei were cooking, Hayate and Reinforce weren't around and Verossa was chatting with Signum about some of the more interesting applications of combat magic to everyday life.

'Well, that explains why Vita's cooking.' Shamal chuckled to herself and smiled as Zwei noticed her. "Good morning. Verossa, just what are you doing here?"

The man smiled at her as he stood up. "Well, I've been wanting to stop over for awhile now, but it's very hard to do when your superiors keep burying you in work."

Shamal laughed softly and nodded as she took a seat. "Yeah, I can understand that."

"No! Don't use that knife!" Agito yelled at Zwei. "We use that to cut meat up!"

"Or bread dough." Vita supplied, smiling lightly. "Actually, Agito, could you get some eggs from the fridge, Rein, could you go get mom and dad up?"

"Sure!" The two, in their human-sized modes said. Zwei ran off to get her parents while Agito opened the fridge up.

"Vita's pretty good with those two, huh?" Verossa said as he and Shamal sat at the table.

"Oh please," Signum snorted, "you're just here to freeload off of us." Verossa gave her a hurt look, though the way he suddenly chuckled made it clear that he didn't take it personally.

Signum raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "Oh, so he's your boyfriend now, huh? I thought he was just your friend with some benefits." She snickered as Vita turned and glared at her.

"At least I didn't pretend to be a pirate for awhile."

Signum rolled her eyes. "I'll have you know that I haven't worn that eye patch in a long time." She snorted when Vita waved her hand. "Anyway, Verossa, you never did say why you came over this morning."

Verossa's smile, which never seemed to leave his face, only increased at the question. "Well, I have something I want to say, but I want to wait for everyone to be up." He nodded as he saw a large blue wolf walk into the kitchen, followed by Hayate, Reinforce and Rein Zwei. "Well, it seems that everyone's here. Unless there's someone else in the house."

"Not yet." Shamal muttered to herself, causing Signum to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Morning, Hayate, Reinforce," they both nodded to her as they sat down, "I'm surprised, I thought you two would be making breakfast."

"I was about to," Hayate said before glancing at Verossa, "but he showed up and Vita kicked me out of the kitchen."

As she came to the table, Vita rolled her eyes. "What? I'm not allowed to make a meal once in awhile?" She ignored the way that Agito laughed at her. "Well, here's breakfast, so, let's dig in."

Hayate would have commented on how much Vita had cooked up for breakfast, but for some reason, she was feeling rather hungry. As she ate, she wondered why Shamal was looking at her with some concern. "Shamal, is something wrong?"

Taking a deep breath, Shamal decided to just get it over with. "Hayate, I'm really surprised you never noticed, but... Congrats, Hayate, you're pregnant, could someone pass the milk please?"

The sudden silence was so overwhelming that Shamal was almost sure she could hear ocean crashing into the beach not too far from the house.

"What?" Reinforce finally broke the silence. "What do you mean?"

Shamal sighed and gave Reinforce a flat look. "I'd like to wash my breakfast down with milk, please pass it."

"You've got a baby on the way, a bun in the oven, in a family way, do you understand or should I think up new metaphors involving a turducken?" Shamal wasn't normally so easily upset, but they were keeping the milk from her, darn it!

"I... But... How?" Hayate felt like fainting, she hadn't been with anyone other than Reinforce.

Reinforce's face went pale, which was rather unusual, since she almost never reacted like that. "Hayate, I think... We need to talk about certain things."

"So, daddy's going to be a mommy even though mommy is mommy and daddy shouldn't be mommy and..." Rein Zwei twitched and looked at Agito, who was just looking around in confusion. "Waah! I've got a daddy mommy now!" Before Agito could respond, Zwei had tackled her to the floor hard.

"Vita, it's getting noisy in here." Vita blinked as she heard Verossa's voice in her head. "Care to step outside with me, I need to talk to you."

"S-sure." Darn it, why was she blushing all of a sudden? That stupidly sexy voice of his... Even if it was just in her mind,

Zafira blinked as he watched Vita and Verossa step outside. Sure, Hayate being pregnant was a surprise, but if he acted like the rest, then there would be no order in the house. And without some order, things got insane.

Besides, it was kind of funny.

Standing up, he walked over to the door and opened it up slightly to listen in on Vita and Verossa's conversation.

"What is it, Verossa?" Vita asked, blinking at the green haired man.

"We've known each other a long time, Vita," he smiled at her while rubbing the back of his neck, "I'd say that we're pretty close, wouldn't you?"

"I'd hope so," Vita gave him a wry smirk. "But, why bring that up?"

"Well, I was thinking, we've known each other for a long time, and well, I was thinking that it's a little past time that our relationship go from where it is to something a little... More."

Vita's eyes widened as Verossa went to one knee and pulled out a small box before opening it. "Verossa..." She gasped as she saw what was inside of it.

"Vita Yagami, would you do the honor of marrying me?"

Vita's answer amused Zafira as he watched his younger sister suddenly tackle Verossa to the patio deck and cry out 'yes' several times before kissing him on the lips fully.

"Good for you, Vita." Zafira blinked and looked up at Shamal and Signum, who were both watching and smiling as well. "What a day, huh?" Shamal smiled down at him.

Zafira nodded and looked back at Vita and Verossa, happy for them. Turning his head, he mentally sighed as Zwei continued to over-react. Well, it wasn't like he could blame her too much, Hayate had always been her father. He was certain that when she calmed down she'd be ecstatic to be a big sister.

Oh well, at least things would work out. He was pretty sure of that at least.

It was some days later when the Librarian and the Knight finally placed their feet upon the land; a land which had not entertained settlers upon its surface for millennia. Beyond the large clearing where they were to make camp stood all manner of alien vegetation, vast mountain ranges, cliffs and hills in the distance. The humid air clung to their skin.

Not twenty meters from the clearing was the opening to a massive cave. The entry stood like a gaping maw, a mouth leading to the belly of the rock and looking as though it may lunge up to devour them whole. Lining the entrance like shining fangs was an array of torches which had been placed by the survey team, fueled by mana cells. Upon a closer glance, they could see the torches leading further into the cave. It was the throat of the land they would traverse until they reached the darkest depths of it, and the ruins which lay deep within, undisturbed until now.

The clearing itself was not without its own furnishings provided by the hands of man. Myriad crates of numerous sizes, some empty and others filled with supplies, lay stacked about in easily accessible arrangements. Their dull, plastic gray surfaces matched the sizable, prefabricated domicile in the center of the clearing. It would be both their home and workstation. Yuuno had used such shelters numerous times on other digs when able, and appreciated their convenience.

He was grateful he could avoid using a tent to do his work and rest. While he did not mind such arrangements, the current one was a most welcome alternative.

Glancing a look to his companion, Yuuno thought back to the past few days leading up to their arrival on Bael-5. Things had been... eventful to say the least.

The revelation of Signum's warped machinations involving her Mistress and shipping the brunette off to what amounted to boot camp had gone over about as well as could be expected. Granted, he'd only made the discovery owing to the swordswoman's slightly flushed face when she had rendezvoused with him for their own trip. The data file she had given him from Hayate and the note to not examine its contents unless Signum began acting up had resulted in a fair number of questions, questions answered in a clipped and embarrassed tone which provided no real answers. Yuuno could only begin to wonder just what Hayate and the remaining Wolkenritter had done in retribution.

Under normal circumstances, his departure to another archeological escapade would entail little to no fanfare. This time, however, Nanoha and Reinforce Zwei had seen fit to see them off at the last moment with what little time they had before clocking in for the day. Fortunately, Signum's demeanor had returned to its stoic and controlled norm by the time the White Devil and the Unison Device had arrived. Farewells and good lucks were exchanged, though a few pointed looks were granted to both himself and Signum from Zwei and Nanoha respectively.

He swore the powder blue-haired young woman had given him a thumbs up before they boarded their shuttle.

The trip itself had been taken on a Bureau-provided transport shuttle. Large enough to hold a fair number of artifacts, should any be recovered, but small enough to be flown by one person. Yuuno had spent much of the trip going over some of the ins and outs of archaeological work with his companion. Though he tried to keep a level head, Signum had been forced to pull his head from the clouds more than once when he began rambling. It was difficult to not be enthusiastic when speaking of his first passion. He would admit, though, it had been rather amusing to see Signum balk at some of his instructions and tales.

He had stepped into her world of death and war. Now she was venturing into his world of history and research. It made it all the more difficult to maintain his composure.

Shaking his head to return his thoughts to the present, Yuuno turned to Signum, adjusting one of the many duffel bags resting on his shoulders as he did so. "Let’s get settled in. We've got a long day ahead of us." His stomach growled as he finished. "...Some dinner wouldn't hurt either."

"Indeed it would not." Signum's agreement was coupled with a look of amusement. They had only partaken of rather tasteless Meals Ready to Eat on the trip here, the shuttle not having the systems or space to prepare a proper one. She was rather pleased they would not be forced to eat such fare once they arrived planet-side. While perfectly fine with military-esque rations, she would rather avoid it when able.

Signum would freely admit she had been spoiled by Hayate's scrumptious cooking, though never aloud.

Together they set about preparing the domicile for their short time living there. It was a rather unusual scene, quite domestic if one were to look at it from the proper angle. Signum set about stowing away their clothing and what supplies she had brought under Yuuno's directions, though he had been a bit too late in informing her of which duffel contained his undergarments. It had been a very awkward moment when she held up a pair of boxers which had "Starlight Breaker" emblazoned across the crotch. Understanding dawned when Yuuno had spoken the name of a certain Admiral, though it did not alleviate their mutual embarrassment.

Yuuno busied himself with preparing the equipment for the dig and daily life. Signum had found it rather amusing when a misplaced footstep had landed his head in a waste bin. He had shot her a bland look in return.

Eventually they had their gear and supplies prepared for the next day, along with their "home" for the remainder of the stay. Not long after, the growling of demanding stomachs turned their attention to dinner. Yuuno took it upon himself to cook something up and bade Signum to take a seat.

As Yuuno set about making something filling and relatively quick to make, soup to be accurate, Signum stared at the man's back. She had never truly had the chance to simply sit down and look at him. Whenever they met by themselves, it was almost always for work or, more recently, for heated battles. Heated battles which often seemed to leave them clad in... very little. She shoved aside the heat growing within her and upon her cheeks. Now was not the time for fantasy.

Yuuno Scrya, Head of the Infinity Library. His passion for knowledge and the past was second to no-one she knew, and he was loyal to his friends on a level which many would find surprising. The man's skill with defensive magics was impressive, to say the least. A walking fortress. Yet, she could always recall he seemed so... small.

Now, as she watched him in silence, something seemed to have changed. Their fevered exchanges had shown the Scrya in a violent, vicious light. A light she found... attractive. Desirable.

Signum blinked as she took in the sight of Yuuno Scrya, her mind awash with all she had discovered about him. Things known to all and things unknown even to his closest friends.

Was he always so tall? His back so broad?

"-num. Signum." Yuuno's voice managed to breach the haze through which her mind had enveloped itself in. She looked up, wondering when exactly he had stopped cooking. "I've been trying to get your attention for a while now. Dinner's ready." To accentuate his point, he set down a steaming bowl of what appeared to be noodle soup in a thick broth before her.

"Ah. My thanks, Scrya." Her voice was a slight off, primarily owing to having been caught unawares by the subject of her thoughts. An odd expression crossed Yuuno's face after she thanked him, prompting a raised eyebrow from the pink haired woman. "Is something wrong?"

Yuuno took his seat opposite Signum. "If it’s alright, would you mind addressing me by my given name?" He paused to scratch his cheek. "We've known each other for over ten years now, and..." His voice trailed off, not entirely certain how to word their recent interactions. It just seemed rather impersonal at this point.

She had not been expecting the man to make such a request, nor was she aware it bothered him. It was how she addressed everyone she knew, with the obvious exception of her family. One might say it was a wall of formality she kept around herself rather than her standard manner of speech. Considering their previous bouts, bouts which had drawn them closer in ways she could never have anticipated, Signum decided she could allow such an exception. "I do not mind... Yuuno."

The name felt unfamiliar to her lips, but not unpleasant.

As the blonde man smiled, she gave an amused grin. "Though I recall you never did ask permission to use my given name, did you." The embarrassment on Yuuno's face was well worth the lighthearted jab.

His eyes widened in realization. "Um, I'm sorry, I didn't..." Yuuno's attempts at an apology were halted when Signum raised a hand.

"I do not mind. Simply be more thoughtful in the future." Despite her rebuke, Signum understood why he hadn't thought to ask. When you knew someone for well over a decade, it stood to reason you might begin referring to them in a certain way without their permission. Such were the bonds between people.

Yuuno nodded. "I'll be more careful in the future." He coughed to clear his throat. "I actually wanted to go over a few things with you while we eat, if it’s alright." There were indeed a great many things he wished to speak with the Knight of the Sword about. However a fair number of them were not relevant to the situation at hand. "Mostly involving what we'll be doing when we reach the ruins."

Signum nodded as she picked up a spoon for her meal. "I do not mind. Rather, I expected you would bring it up sooner than later." She took a spoonful of her meal and blew on the hot soup to cool it. With a tentative sip, she tasted it to check its temperature. Finding it to be acceptable, the Knight finished her spoonful and nodded. "This is quite good."

"Thanks," he replied simply whilst scratching his cheek. Living by himself had meant learning how to cook so as to avoid reliance on takeout and instant meals. Still, it wasn't much in his opinion. Not compared to Hayate's legendary fare. Yuuno shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts. Now wasn't the time to be debating his culinary capabilities.

After swallowing another mouthful of his soup, Yuuno set his spoon down and began to explain. "The ruins are approximately two-hundred meters below the surface. We'll be taking an ATV down the first time to get exact coordinates and set up some safety measures. We could easily teleport in, but I don't want to run the risk of the magic destabilizing anything. The initial team didn't leave us anything usable, unfortunately."

"You mentioned they were looking for suitable areas for colonization," interjected Signum briefly.

He nods. "Scans detected significant metal deposits below the surface and when they went to further investigate, they found the temple. They weren't exactly amused when they found out, to be honest." There was an amused look on Yuuno's face. The team leader had been rather vocal in his bemoaning about his hopes being dashed.

He continued with the occasional pause to eat his dinner. "When we get down there, we'll be mapping out the site and looking for a viable entry into the temple. The entry shouldn't take too long; it’s the cartography which will probably take most of our time. Since this is a virgin site, there’s likely going to be defenses or other hazards which are usually set off by raiders or previous explorers." There was affection in his voice as he spoke.

Signum shifted in her seat as the blonde continued to explain. The manner in which Yuuno was speaking made her all the more curious to see what he was like in the throes of his passion rather than exploring her own. She was also a little curious as to what this temple contained. History was not one of her interests, but the proximity to a relic of her past had sparked an interest.

Heedless of the pinkette's musings, Yuuno continued on. His voice becoming more and more enthused as the words left his mouth. "Once the mapping is done, we'll start looking for artifacts, relics, really anything to tell us what manner of place it was; who used it; why. Something like this is bound to contain invaluable information."

There was a nod of agreement from Signum as she processed what she had been told. While sounding simple in explanation, she did not entertain the possibility of it being so in reality. She raised an eyebrow as Yuuno began to ramble about the possibilities of what they might find. Eventually, she interrupted his musings, "Scry-Yuuno, you are doing it again."

A sheepish look crossed his features and he gave a chuckle of embarrassment, "Aha... Sorry. I'll try to tone it down."

"Do not worry." Signum smiled with amusement. "Simply try to keep your head about you when we are underground. Our roles of master and novice are reversed after all."

Yuuno scratched his cheek as he replied, "This is true."

"Still..." The Knight trailed off, an odd look in her crystal eyes. "It is good to see you so passionate about your work." He was quite passionate about other things as well, a corner of her mind commented. Signum roughly shoved the voice aside. It was then another thought occurred to her. "You made mention of needing sleeping bags. If we have a base of operations such as this, why would we need them?"

The blonde blinked before remembering. It was common sense to him, but not so to one with no experience in this field. "They're good to have on hand when you're not up to teleporting back to base, which happens far more often than you'd think. Plus, sometimes you end up running out of places to store things and have to sleep outside."

Signum raised an eyebrow. "I can understand the former, but the latter? You have had a lack of storage even with accommodations such as these and the multitude of crates outside?" She received an embarrassed look from Yuuno in reply. She could have sworn she had heard him mumble a 'maybe?' as well. This would prove to be an interesting venture to say the least.

As Yuuno began cleaning up after dinner, Signum made a short trip to the restroom to wash up. She may not have taken notice prior to her visitation of the facilities, but she did notice afterwards. She called out to Yuuno in a flat tone which lacked any amusement, and without taking her eyes away from the sight, "Scrya, I would very much appreciate an explanation." Her shift in mood had led her back to her original form of addressing him.

He came as requested. "What's wro…ng...?" The blonde's question trailed off as he took in the scene which seemed to be so affronting to the Blazing General. There, as though mocking him, were the sleeping arrangements provided. A single, standardized TSAB-issue bed for two. Sterile white sheets atop a relatively thin mattress and headed by a pair of matching pillows.

They stood there in an awkward silence for a few moments before Yuuno shattered it. "I'll be getting more use out of my sleeping bag than I thought..." He glanced over to Signum with an apologetic look and an uncomfortable tone in his voice. "Sorry about this, I thought we'd each have a bed to ourselves."

"It is not your fault. I was simply... surprised." Signum's admission held the same tone as Yuuno's. Though she was appreciative of his decision to grant her the bed, such an arrangement would not be fair to the man. She was the one who had tagged along on his expedition, after all. "I would not be opposed to taking turns. You may have the bed one night and I the next. Would that be acceptable?"

"Are you certain?" Yuuno confirmed. He honestly didn't mind using the sleeping bag the entire time. He'd done it numerous times before, but he wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to have a real bed to sleep in, even if it was only every other night.

Signum shook her head. "I would not have offered otherwise." She smirked at her roommate for the days to come. "Now, how would you like to decide which of us will sleep in it tonight?" There was an undertone to her voice which made the blonde swallow as though the room had become a slight more warm than he would have liked. She may have accepted his reasoning behind not having any of their usual matches when requesting permission to join him, but there had been no mention of a simple spar.

"...What did you have in mind?" His words were laced with anticipation and hesitation. There was but one thing which came to mind with the voice Signum used: battle. But why? They were here for an archeological dig of such rarity as never experienced before, not for a slugging match which would leave them... Yuuno cast aside such hedonistic thoughts before they could devolve any further.

The Knight's eyes danced with fire. "A sparring match. No magic, no weapons. Merely our bare hands until one of us submits."

"Oh." Realization filled his mind. A sparring match. He could manage such a thing, though part of him lamented at the lack of a chance to entwine himself in proper battle with the stunning woman as he had done in previous bouts. "That would work. No more than five minutes though. I don't want either of us to be too exhausted for tomorrow."

Signum nodded. "Five minutes should be plenty." She would take what she could get, and she would savor it.

---Scene Break---

The morning after was a bustle of activity for Yuuno Scrya after he crawled out of his sleeping bag. He could scarcely wait a moment longer to venture into the depths and lay his hands on the untouched ruin. His exuberant state led him to be ready far more quickly than one might expect a person to be capable of. Signum's early morning demeanor was hardly a hindrance either. With their supplies loaded into the ATV and hungering bellies sated with a quick breakfast, the pair began making the journey beneath the surface.

It was a rather uneventful, yet slow, drive. Two hundred meters below the surface did not necessarily mean in a straight, comfortable line. What did not help was the rather rough terrain they had to traverse at times. At least the light provided by their lamps was sufficient enough to make it seem as though daylight reached inside the cavern. Conversation was relatively minimal, mostly consisting of Yuuno pointing out and explaining various geological features to a curious Signum or Signum commenting about his performance on their brief sparring match the night prior.

He couldn't help but notice she seemed much more well-rested than he did. Was the bed really so comfortable?

"We're almost there..." Yuuno commented when the surroundings began to change. The fragments of long destroyed buildings began to dot the subterranean landscape. A pillar here, a collapsed wall there, fragmented and worn stone off to the corner. The metallic components of the structures had survived the ravages of time rather well. While time was indeed a harsh mistress, she was far more merciful than the hands of man.

"You say this is an untouched ruin... then all of this is from the passage of time?" Signum's eyes scanned the landscape as yet more and more of broken structures came into view. It was... quite the amazing sight.

A nod of confirmation. "In some cases, even a few hundred years is more than enough to do far worse. That these ruins are in as good condition as they are after thousands and underground, no less... It’s practically a miracle."

"Even more so it has been untouched by human hands in all that time, correct?" A part of Signum's mind began to realize just how significant a discovery this was. And to an archaeologist... her companion's zeal was all the more understandable.

"Even once in a lifetime is too often compared to this." Yuuno's eyes shone with anticipation. Signum would swear they glowed when the sight of the ruins came into view.

Illuminated by the lamps of their vehicle, the decaying structure was still mostly intact. Rather, as intact as a thousands of years-old building crafted of stone and metal could be. It was rather massive at first glance, with some sections having been crushed or devoured by the cavern and the inevitable seismic activity of the planet. As they drew ever closer, yet more detail could be made out. Faint smatterings of color adorned the walls while worn down elevations on the surface began to stick out, likely preserved as well as it was by some manner of lingering spellwork.

The ATV came to a slow stop a few meters from the ruin and both its riders disembarked. Signum grasped two of the lamps while Yuuno help up his hands, a myriad of green hued magical screens appearing before him.

As information scrolled by his eyes, a few things began to stand out from his scans. "Hmm... This is strange. Fortunate, but strange..."

"What is?" queried Signum as she looked over one of the nearby walls, the faded and damaged markings barely legible. Even if she could read, write, and speak in the Ancient Belkan language, these marking were so far gone no amount of talent would grant her their meanings.

"There's very little I can detect which would cause problems with transport. Though I'm honestly surprised there's so little magical residue here. A temple should be giving off a much stronger signature, especially if it were sealed up." A frown crossed Yuuno's features as he attempted to discern the meaning behind such a revelation. There were a few possible reasons, one being this site wasn't as untouched as he'd been led to believe. Another was the possibility of something far more advanced evading his preliminary scans, "Or maybe..."

"Perhaps this is not a temple at all," voiced the Knight, her opinion meshing with Yuuno's thoughts perfectly.

The blonde nodded. "That's looking like a strong possibility, but we won't know for certain until we get inside and start mapping the place out." He looked up at Signum, who was still carefully examining the walls before her. It was plain to him her powers of observation were lending themselves well to their task. It brought a smile to his face. "Have you found anything?"

Aiming one of the two lamps towards a far more intact wall section, the distinct outline of some manner of entrance could be seen under Signum's light. "An entrance, it seems. Should we enter here or look elsewhere?" She handed the second lamp to the approaching Yuuno, who took it with a word of thanks.

"This would be good, actually." He turned a grin to Signum, "Good find." The entrance she had found was partially collapsed by a fallen chunk of stone, but still sturdy and wide enough to allow access with minimal effort. He took a deep breath as he prepared to set foot inside a structure which none had entered in thousands of years.

Signum found the sight of Yuuno's nerves rather amusing. In the past, she would have prodded him on. Considering the importance and rarity of the find, however, she would let him have his moment. He had indulged her passion, so it was only fair she do the same for him. She could not help but feel a twinge of anticipation at stepping into the unknown. It was a far cry from the thrill of battle, but it was hardly unpleasant either.

"Here goes..." Yuuno whispered.

He took a single footstep into the ruin. It resounded like a thunderclap, filling his body with a rush of adrenaline he'd not felt since he last exchanged blows with Signum.

Beyond the entrance, now illuminated by the lamplight, lay a long hallway. It was decrepit and decaying, yet still serviceable. Branching corridors could be seen and what appeared to be some manner of fixtures adorned the ceiling in some places. Perhaps a form of lighting? More and more thoughts began to spiral about Yuuno's mind as he stood in the hallway. What manner of place was this? It certainly did not seem to be a temple. At least, not one of any design he'd ever seen or read about. Perhaps this was the remains of a military complex or housing? At the very least, there were no indications of any religious practices thus far.

A tap on his shoulder brought him back to the present with a jump. The blonde whirled about to see Signum standing behind him with a raised eyebrow.

"I wouldn't think it to be wise to get lost in your thoughts here," quipped Signum with a somewhat amused tone.

Shaking his head, the blonde chuckled as he turned back to the hallway. "It wouldn't. Sorry about that." He raised the lamp as a soft green magical array sprung to life in front of him, slowly filling in details about their immediate surroundings. Yuuno glanced back to the swordswoman and grinned. "Shall we?"

Signum nodded and the two began carefully making their way through the ruins.

It did not take long for either to notice there was not a single trap or man-made hazard to be found. In fact, it was rather difficult to maintain the thought there were any present elsewhere either. Not to mention there hadn't been a single hint of Lost Logia thus far. No surges of magical power or strange concentrations of mana. Not even a remotely suspicious wall or bleached bone. It was beginning to make the archaeologist more than a little jumpy.

Even Signum was more than a little wary. She'd been expecting more trouble than they'd found. Rather, she'd been expecting some form of trouble. Not empty hallways and decaying down rooms of comparable occupancy.

Only the sound of their breathing and the occasional crunch of their boots against the floor broke the total silence of their dark surroundings.

"Yuuno." Signum's deep, feminine tone shattered the silence. Even she was unnerved by the absolute lack of sound or sign of inhabitance. Unconsciously, she reached for Laevatein's sealed form around her neck.

"Y-Yes?" Yuuno was a little startled, admittedly. He didn't like this, not one bit. It felt too unnatural.

"This is... not normal, is it?" It was a statement, not a question. She may be the novice, but even a novice could tell this was unexpected.

Shaking his head, the blonde continued his scanning. "No… It’s really not... If someone had come here beforehand, we'd have seen signs of it. And there's absolutely no sign of former habitation. It’s like... someone just built this place and that was it."

Just as Signum was about to comment, something caught her eye in the distance. "Perhaps not." She tapped Yuuno's shoulder and gestured towards where her lamp was aimed. "Look over there."

Casting his eyes where directed, Yuuno took in the sight of the anomaly. Indeed, breaking the near perpetual and grim monotony of bland hallways, empty rooms, and wrecked walls, was what appeared to be a... book? A book laying just beyond another doorframe. Had they finally found something? "That's..." His voice was cautious, curious, and anxious. A smile broke out on his face. "It... looks like a book. Lets have a look..."

Their footsteps hastened as they drew closer to the item. The closer they came, the more of the ruins became visible. Bland and unadorned gave way to what looked like picture frames and message boards. Though worn and damaged by time, they were still recognizable as such. Reflective surfaces covered in dust. Some had even fallen to the ground under the weight of it and broken.

As he kneeled down next to the fallen tome, his attention was drawn into the room the doorframe led to. Much had fallen into disrepair, but there were... shelves. Shelves, desks, counters, and bookcases... One such bookcase, still laden with much of its bounty, had fallen to the ground near the doorway. Its contents were spilled out across the floor and left to gather dust.

So much knowledge... It threatened to drive Yuuno into hysterics.

Barely managing to hold himself together, Yuuno carefully leaned over to the nearest book and examined it closely. The layer of dirt atop it was gingerly blown aside and a mostly intact cover was revealed to him. His eyes widened in abject shock as he slowly deciphered the indentations pressed into the hard surface. "Signum... You know Ancient Belkan, right? Please tell me what this says, so I know I'm not hallucinating..."

Signum obliged her companion, though as she did so, her own voice became tinged with shock. "Anthology of... Literature..." She turned her crystal blue eyes to Yuuno, astonishment on her face and in her voice. "This is-!"

Yuuno nodded hesitantly as he crept over to more of the fallen tomes, deciphering their covers with more and more awe creeping into his voice, "’Arithmetic’… ‘A History of the... Empire’… ‘Belkan Linguistics’..." He swallowed and looked over to Signum. "Textbooks... This place was a school. An Ancient Belkan School."

__________________

The Art of Shipping is as profound as it is dangerous; not for the faint of heart nor the weak of will, it makes gods and devils out of us all.

Old Iron, you did it. I was expecting some entertaining adventure n the ruins but you go far beyond and give us a very interesting story. It definetely looks like you know what's going to happen so i'm now more thrilled to know the truth behind this ruins and the results of the expedition.

I know i'm probably wait another semester to have Ch. 7 but i'll wait nontheless, keep up the good job, you're doing amazingly xD

Plus, it's fun to see the roles reversed, Signum is now the apprentice xD

Author's notes: I don't know why, but for now I have nothing to say other than the line below.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to MGLN StrikerS, whether it is the anime, manga or sound stage.
---Chapter on animesuki
---Author's Notes: Well tomorrow it's the final part of the main story and then two days after that the omake. I'm wondering if once I flag this as completed more viewers will come in, not that it matters. Until then, thank you and farewell.

Shamal really wasn't sure what to make of the data that she had gotten. She had run at least twenty tests and sighed to herself. "Well, she'll find out sooner or later." She wasn't sure why she was surprised, but shrugged it off. It was almost time for breakfast anyway. Taking a deep breath, she walked out of her room and into a wonderful aroma of smells. When she got to the kitchen, she blinked at three things, Vita, Agito and Zwei were cooking, Hayate and Reinforce weren't around and Verossa was chatting with Signum about some of the more interesting applications of combat magic to everyday life.

'Well, that explains why Vita's cooking.' Shamal chuckled to herself and smiled as Zwei noticed her. "Good morning. Verossa, just what are you doing here?"

The man smiled at her as he stood up. "Well, I've been wanting to stop over for awhile now, but it's very hard to do when your superiors keep burying you in work."

Shamal laughed softly and nodded as she took a seat. "Yeah, I can understand that."

"No! Don't use that knife!" Agito yelled at Zwei. "We use that to cut meat up!"

"Or bread dough." Vita supplied, smiling lightly. "Actually, Agito, could you get some eggs from the fridge, Rein, could you go get mom and dad up?"

"Sure!" The two, in their human-sized modes said. Zwei ran off to get her parents while Agito opened the fridge up.

"Vita's pretty good with those two, huh?" Verossa said as he and Shamal sat at the table.

"Oh please," Signum snorted, "you're just here to freeload off of us." Verossa gave her a hurt look, though the way he suddenly chuckled made it clear that he didn't take it personally.

Signum raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "Oh, so he's your boyfriend now, huh? I thought he was just your friend with some benefits." She snickered as Vita turned and glared at her.

"At least I didn't pretend to be a pirate for awhile."

Signum rolled her eyes. "I'll have you know that I haven't worn that eye patch in a long time." She snorted when Vita waved her hand. "Anyway, Verossa, you never did say why you came over this morning."

Verossa's smile, which never seemed to leave his face, only increased at the question. "Well, I have something I want to say, but I want to wait for everyone to be up." He nodded as he saw a large blue wolf walk into the kitchen, followed by Hayate, Reinforce and Rein Zwei. "Well, it seems that everyone's here. Unless there's someone else in the house."

"Not yet." Shamal muttered to herself, causing Signum to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Morning, Hayate, Reinforce," they both nodded to her as they sat down, "I'm surprised, I thought you two would be making breakfast."

"I was about to," Hayate said before glancing at Verossa, "but he showed up and Vita kicked me out of the kitchen."

As she came to the table, Vita rolled her eyes. "What? I'm not allowed to make a meal once in awhile?" She ignored the way that Agito laughed at her. "Well, here's breakfast, so, let's dig in."

Hayate would have commented on how much Vita had cooked up for breakfast, but for some reason, she was feeling rather hungry. As she ate, she wondered why Shamal was looking at her with some concern. "Shamal, is something wrong?"

Taking a deep breath, Shamal decided to just get it over with. "Hayate, I'm really surprised you never noticed, but... Congrats, Hayate, you're pregnant, could someone pass the milk please?"

The sudden silence was so overwhelming that Shamal was almost sure she could hear ocean crashing into the beach not too far from the house.

"What?" Reinforce finally broke the silence. "What do you mean?"

Shamal sighed and gave Reinforce a flat look. "I'd like to wash my breakfast down with milk, please pass it."

"You've got a baby on the way, a bun in the oven, in a family way, do you understand or should I think up new metaphors involving a turducken?" Shamal wasn't normally so easily upset, but they were keeping the milk from her, darn it!

"I... But... How?" Hayate felt like fainting, she hadn't been with anyone other than Reinforce.

Reinforce's face went pale, which was rather unusual, since she almost never reacted like that. "Hayate, I think... We need to talk about certain things."

"So, daddy's going to be a mommy even though mommy is mommy and daddy shouldn't be mommy and..." Rein Zwei twitched and looked at Agito, who was just looking around in confusion. "Waah! I've got a daddy mommy now!" Before Agito could respond, Zwei had tackled her to the floor hard.

"Vita, it's getting noisy in here." Vita blinked as she heard Verossa's voice in her head. "Care to step outside with me, I need to talk to you."

"S-sure." Darn it, why was she blushing all of a sudden? That stupidly sexy voice of his... Even if it was just in her mind,

Zafira blinked as he watched Vita and Verossa step outside. Sure, Hayate being pregnant was a surprise, but if he acted like the rest, then there would be no order in the house. And without some order, things got insane.

Besides, it was kind of funny.

Standing up, he walked over to the door and opened it up slightly to listen in on Vita and Verossa's conversation.

"What is it, Verossa?" Vita asked, blinking at the green haired man.

"We've known each other a long time, Vita," he smiled at her while rubbing the back of his neck, "I'd say that we're pretty close, wouldn't you?"

"I'd hope so," Vita gave him a wry smirk. "But, why bring that up?"

"Well, I was thinking, we've known each other for a long time, and well, I was thinking that it's a little past time that our relationship go from where it is to something a little... More."

Vita's eyes widened as Verossa went to one knee and pulled out a small box before opening it. "Verossa..." She gasped as she saw what was inside of it.

"Vita Yagami, would you do the honor of marrying me?"

Vita's answer amused Zafira as he watched his younger sister suddenly tackle Verossa to the patio deck and cry out 'yes' several times before kissing him on the lips fully.

"Good for you, Vita." Zafira blinked and looked up at Shamal and Signum, who were both watching and smiling as well. "What a day, huh?" Shamal smiled down at him.

Zafira nodded and looked back at Vita and Verossa, happy for them. Turning his head, he mentally sighed as Zwei continued to over-react. Well, it wasn't like he could blame her too much, Hayate had always been her father. He was certain that when she calmed down she'd be ecstatic to be a big sister.

Oh well, at least things would work out. He was pretty sure of that at least.

- SSX End

Val: When did Mejeer tech got in that realm? I mean a pair of female got a child between them...

Odin: Or it could be while Hayate's in her cycle... Rein Eins kinda fertilized her ovum....

Me: I'm not even gonna think about that but I have to make a C++ program that will allow me to have a phone book out of it.... And later use it to make an ATM program....

Mariemeia: Need help?

Me: No need... I need to learn myself.

Elane: Talk about a big step on on the relationship... Advance congratulation, Vita!

Author's notes: Thus we come to the end of this. Questions for the omake have twenty four hours to come in, starting from 16 June, 10 15 (GMT+8). For more details please go to the author's notes at the end of Chapter 7.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to MGLN StrikerS, whether it is the anime, manga or sound stage.
---Part on animesuki
---Author's notes: Here's a short omake that will explain something which I couldn't find a place to put in.

Genya: How is the floor supporting 270kg? (6*45)

Kiran: Er, I don't know... It was never explained by the technicians...

Watch: Master, I have the action-reaction program installed. All extra weight is not felt by the ground.

Yeah, I felt that this was too lighthearted to be put above so a made a mini omake. I'm terribly sorry if you expected my omakes to be funny. I was never good at humor so I don't think they will crack you up. Anway, thank you for your attention and goodbye until monday.

“...and while the FBI, CIA, and the police are still looking into it, so far there has been concrete answers as to who was behind the attack on the Bureau visitors' motorcade yesterday,” the female news reporter on the TV was finishing up. “Back to you, Nana.”

Yukoshi kept one eye on his supposed superior, the woman who was still claiming to be the ancient Japanese sun goddess, Amaretsu. To a normal person, her face appeared to be an impassioned mask, with no trace of emotion detected. But Yukoshi didn't climb this high in the the top yakuza crime organization without being able to read people. The slight muscle twitch, the way the body changed positions, and even slight eye movement... all spoke to what a person tried to keep buried. In this case, there was only one conclusion:

Amaretsu was upset.

“I thought we were going to wait until they entered Japanese soil, to stage our attack on them?” Yukoshi inquired, carefully trying to phrase his question as... tactly as possible.

She promptly clicked off the TV and glared at him. “I know you're studying me, looking for weaknesses. You humans are all the same. While you are free to do so, know that I am always in complete control at all times, and that will never change.” The admission surprised him, and he found himself more curious than anything when she sighed. “I will tell you some of what I told your predecessor; I control the Asian territories. As that implies, other beings such as myself, control other parts of this world. In the Americas, this is currently one known as 'Raven.' It is he who jumped the gun with this botched assassination attempt, perhaps looking to gain favor.”

Yukoshi raised an eyebrow. “Gain favor? With who?”

“Our holy mother, the oldest and most powerful of all of us,” she answered freely. “Yes, there is a hierarchy. I will not tell you who she is, but know that each region leader is second to her. Perhaps, in your terms, we might be called vice presidents, while she is president. Although we all rule consensually in a council.”

Her frankness regarding her secrets was surprising to him, but he got the impression there was far more that she wasn't telling him. Human? She wasn't human? Then what was she? An alien like these Bureau people? Or was she truly the goddess of Japanese mythology? He knew a little about other cultures, and thus had a little notion of the name 'Raven' which he recalled to be one of the gods of the native American tribes.

If she was aware of his thoughts, she gave no sign, and instead continued. “I tell you all of this, because I know you are seeking ways to use things against me. Know this: Each of us, while we may bear some antagonism to each other, will never listen to, or stoop to seeking help from, a human. None of my peers, or those of my kind, would work with you to overthrow me. They know that if you'd betray me, you'd betray them as well. So if you are thinking of using that angle, I would warn you not to. I don't care if you try, as you'll just end up like your predecessor. But it would be a pain to train a new dog.”

Her grin was ever Cheshire-like, as if she was daring him to try. Her expression told him that she caught that barest of flinches on his face that he sought to hide, too. He wasn't immune to being read, either, and while he got the impression he was just a dog to her, it did rankle him a bit to hear her say it so bluntly.

“On the contrary,” he tried to disagree, yet still keeping his tone carefully neutral. “I have no interest in following in my predecessor's footsteps in that regard. I came this far, knowing who wielded power, and knowing how to respect that power.”

She studied him for a bit, which gave him that unsettling feeling she was gazing into his very soul. If she was reading his mind, she gave no outward sign. Still, her continued gaze him him feel most uncomfortable.

“Now, as for business...” she said at last, holding our her sake dish for him to fill. “Did you gather the required personnel and data for transport?”

“Yes,” he confirmed, also deeply unsettled by the task she had given him. And almost as put out at having to be a simple server to her, filling her drink. “There are a couple more that my men are rounding up, but all will be on the boat tonight. We have several nuclear engineers on our payroll, or in our debt. They are falling in line to protect their families. But I must register my displeasure at sending them to North Korea. Kim Jong Un is almost likely as crazy as his father, although he is mostly a puppet to the generals. One of the few things everyone in the world agrees upon, is not letting them have nuclear weapons.”

To be sure, he was a yakuza and thus had no compunctions about torture or murder or theft, or whatever would get the job done. But he was first and foremost dedicated to Japan, as all yakuza were. They knew there was no business, if Japan was reduced to rubble. In the aftermath of disasters, many yakuza were out there rescuing people and helping to rebuild Japan. It made no business sense to have your home destroyed in the name of profit.

But sending resources to another country? One as hated and insane as North Korea?

“I told you, I control all Asian territories,” she replied simply, not elaborating on how while emptying her sake dish in one gulp. “It has suited me to have North Korea in the shape it is in. Sometimes it pays to have variety in the resources one controls. The insanity it projects, makes it a perfect thorn for multiple sides. But have no worries; they will not be launching nuclear weapons at Japan.” She gave him a stern look. “Know also that I do not have to explain myself to you. I do so now because you are still new to me, and I know what I tell you will make your job a little easier. When I give you orders, no matter what they are, I expect them to be carried out as accurately as possible. Is that understood?”

“Yes,” he answered, perhaps more quickly than he was comfortable with.

This wasn't like serving a normal yakuza boss; she unnerved him, due to how many questions still surrounded her. Still, perhaps she had given away a bit more than she intended. She repeatedly made it clear that she wasn't human, and that there were more of their kind. But with her powers, why didn't their kind rule openly? Clearly they could. However, he got the distinct impression there wasn't many of them. If she was a goddess, and Raven was a god, then it might indicate all of their kind considered themselves gods. Even though Japan had thousands of gods, most cultures had much, much less... could this hint their numbers were limited? If so, why? Could they not procreate as much as humans could? If Amaretsu was the original, and she hadn't been replaced by a son or daughter by now... could they even have children?

There were still so many questions, but Yukoshi had long loved solving problems and figuring out solutions. And he was confident he could solve hers.

x~~*~~x

Suzuka hugged the man tightly in the hall on the embassy's second floor. “I missed you... big brother!”

Kyoya lightly blushed at the teasing line, which made the nearby Miyuki chuckle. “Brother-in-law, that is. And we missed you, too. Sorry we haven't been keeping in touch as much as you'd probably like, but we've been fairly deep undercover the past year.”

And in fact, they had been busy the past several days as well, due to moving into the Bureau embassy in Japan. Everyone had been running around to get things done, in addition to safeguarding Lindy as she met with various representatives and ambassadors. Also, the entire expedition had been on high alert for any new attacks. But it had been fairly quiet on the home front for the past several days, so Lindy finally downgraded alert status to normal. And with everything now mostly setup, Suzuka finally had a chance to talk with the Takamachi siblings.

“I see that, now,” Suzuka answered, impressed. “Is that how long Lindy has been working you for? She really does her homework. Did you discover anything?”

“Not too much, I'm afraid,” Miyuki answered, finally speaking up. “We haven't infiltrated very far, and our informants didn't have any concrete info. But in the past several months, various underworld sectors around the world have been gearing up for something”

“We could never figure out what for, or why,” Kyoya added, taking over. “If it was in response to the Bureau coming, then they have some inside track that we haven't been able to pinpoint. I'll be heading back out in the field, though, in the next day or two to resume the investigation.”

A big smile formed on Suzuka's face. “So does that mean you two can at least spend a night out on the town with us? Now that we're settled in, and the alert level has lowered, we have some free time. And I haven't heard from my sister yet; is she with you?”

One again, Kyoya took over, while he pulled an envelope from his breast pocket. “Shinobu sends her regrets, but she's caught up in some family business at your estate in Germany, and won't make it back to Japan for at least a week or two. She did prepare this letter for you, however.”

Suzuka gratefully accepted it, studying it curiously for a moment. It had worried her, and perhaps disturbed her a bit, that her own sister hadn't contacted her at all since she had arrived. She hadn't replied to any of the texts or e-mails, nor would she even answer Suzuka's phone calls. She thought about asking Kyoya, but this wasn't the right time, and perhaps the letter would provide some clue.

“Cute kitty!” Miyuki cooed suddenly, reaching over to scratch the chin of the black kitten on Suzuka's shoulder. “What's its name?”

Suzuka smiled, sliding the envelope into her pants pocket. “His name is Whiskers, and he's my device. I sometimes forget he's up there, since he's with me almost all of the time.”

“I programmed him to be that way most of the time, even though he does have some basic AI speech when needed,” Suzuka answered. “Anyway, looks like we're just waiting on four other people.... and there's Vice and Alto!”

Said Seargent Major had just appeared around the corner, Alto at his side, and he waved. “We're ready to go! I'm looking forward to seeing what your world has to show us.” He paused, glancing around the hallway. “Aren't we missing some people?”

“Well, Arf wanted to take this time to go visit Amy and her kids, so we're just waiting on-”

The door at the other side of the hall, which all noted as Lindy's office, opened and closed, producing a somewhat sullen-faced Arisa who promptly sighed.

“There's one of them,” Suzuka stated wryly, then looked a bit concerned. “Arisa-chan? Are you okay?”

The short-haired blonde showcased a smile as she waved and approached the growing group. “I'll tell you about it later. Right now, I just want to blow off some steam with a night of karaoke. So let's go!”

Suzuka bit her lip. “Yes, she was... I'll go check on her, and meet up with you guys in the parking garage.”

x~~*~~x

Had she really been here before? It all seemed so familiar, and yet not.

Gid....... tice rid........ et's play!

Vague flashes of images and sound teased Arf's mind as she walked through the garden in front of the house. From a pure factual standpoint, she knew this as the Harlaown house on Earth, where Amy was raising the two children she had with Chrono. But on some other level, Arf felt like she had been here before. Of course, she had, according to the records and information Fate and her friends had shared in the year from her “birth.” But that was just abstract information.

Over a year ago, she had supposedly been reborn as a Guardian Beast, an ancient form of familiar creation that involved more mana than a familiar, and thus wasn't tied to any specific master. She could draw mana on her own from her surroundings to sustain herself. She had been told that she - or was it her predecessor? - had sacrificed herself to save Fate.

We're.... Flow..... ters...... name of.... punish....

Even the fragrance inhaled by a simple rose sniff was enough to kindle more images, along with sounds of playing and laughing; the unknown accompanying feelings spoke of a happier time, which made her all the more confused at why she had put this off for so long. Was she afraid of what she'd find? Is that why she used the excuse of the golem squad to come to Earth, finally? Why should she be afraid at all? What was the source of the hesitancy in her heart? Could she be afraid of finding out who she used to be?

A young boy's call broke her thoughts. “Mama, Arf's back!”

As the guardian-beast-in-human-form looked up, a small human nearly tackled her as he sprinted from the front door and hugged her, leaving her speechless. Instinctively, she knew he wasn't a threat.

“Aww, why aren't you in doggy form?” he pouted, glancing up at her with wavering eyes. “I wanna ride!”

A name popped into her head. “Karel.”

But did she know his name merely because she had looked up the housing roster in advance? Or did it come from a deeper memory? Arf didn't know, and perhaps that was a part of her fear.

She smiled and reached down to ruffle his hair. “Sorry, maybe in a bit.”

“Arf!” a little girl's voice echoed, and in the next moment, a second form was hugging her waist.

Somehow moved by the actions of the two children, Arf, bent down to hug both, pulling up a name to attach to the girl. “Hi, Liera!”

That's when she noticed a young woman standing in the doorway, smiling and patiently observing the scene. “Welcome home, Arf!”

Arf struggled for a moment, before forming her reply. “Thank you... Amy.”

x~~*~~x

Otto dropped her golem lower to the ground, picking out targets as she flew.

Her hands, buried in two separate openings in her control console, tweaked and rotated the handles within, allowing her to pilot the six meter tall machine as if it were her own body. The control nooks also served a dual purpose; they could absorb her Ray Storm output, projecting it outside the golem through several weapon emplacements. It also absorbed and strengthened her barrier skills, although her default was channeling them to the immense shield pontoons on her arms, which made her golem one of the strongest defensively as well.

For now, Otto chose regular attacks, firing off four normal curving green beams from the twin bores on each shield pontoon, taking a half a dozen tanks on the ground as she landed. Once amongst the trees which barely topped the golem itself, she broke into a running gait, which conserved more magical battery strength over direct flight. Also, the trees provided some cover from return fire, and that showed immediate showed benefit as cannon and missile fire landed more around instead of impacting directly. The enemy was reduced to guessing her position instead.

Of course, the trees also mostly blocked her own line of sight to her target, but her spatial memory kept her aware of it's general location. The problem was that there were too many defenses; heading straight for it would exhaust her shield strength, but she couldn't take too long since it would let her allies down.

"Andro," she spoke calmly, feeding data directly to her Intelligent Device, interfaced with the golem.

"Processing," came the monotone electronic voice, accompanied by a scroll of data detailing methods of approach. "Saturation Assault System charging."

Otto steered her golem in a semi-circle towards the target, dropping back slightly to make herself a harder target, while twin panels on her golem's chest slide open, revealing a dozen barrels each. She continued to feed energy into the system, as Andro plotted the coordinates and the distance ticked down. 6 kilometers... 5 kilometers... 4 kilometers... Once it hit three and the SAS reached 100%, Otto planted her golem's legs and thumbed the trigger.

Dozens of large green beams exploded from the golem's chest, the stored up Ray Storm energy enhanced by magic arcing up into the air, then down again to carpet a large section of forest three kilometers away. Return fire from dozens of missiles sought her out since she had just given away her position, but she was already moving even before her own initial attack landed, triggering her back mounted boosters to rocket across the ground, a few feet off the forest floor.

She entered the carpet-bombed sector, the ground pockmarked by dozens of craters and the smoking hulls of many tanks and other vehicles, and lined up the command center as it came into range. Her golem was rocked side-to-side as 155mm cannon shells rained down upon her shields, but they held up long enough for her to get a lock. Raising the golem's right hand, a larger barrel emerged from the forearm while Otto poured her Ray Storm energy into a single shot that pierced the command and control building, exploding it in a shower of molten steel and flaming metal.

"Simulation Success," Andro intoned, the screens fading as the pilot removed her arms from the control sockets and sat back, letting out a breath.

"Compile data for later review, and prepare to run simulation #223-" Otto started to say, then paused as a tapping came from the hatch. She leaned her chair back and popped the exit open, looking up into the upside down face of one of her comrades.

"I figured I'd find you here," Suzuka informed her with a gentle smile. "I was wondering if you'd like to come with the rest of us; we're going to show Vice and Alto the night life in this town, and we'd like to show you, too."

Otto was hesitant. "I am not sure; I have a few more simulations to run, and-"

Suzuka rolled her eyes. "You've been running simulations nonstop since you became a pilot, even on the trip to Earth. You can't spend your life in there; Come on, it'll be fun!

Her device seemed to agree, as it shut down the golem and popped out the dog tag interface device. Otto sighed and pulled it out out of the center of the control console, letting the purple-haired technician pull her out.

Otto was unsure, but apparently the woman wasn't going to take no for an answer.

x~~*~~x

“Come in,” Lindy proclaimed while trying to get used to writing on a computer with such a clunky physical keyboard. And the mouse... how did Earthlings use these things without finger and wrist cramps?

General Adams appeared in the doorway, his face carefully neutral, although Lindy could detect annoyance there. “Your next appointment is here, Admiral.”

The Bureau diplomat sighed, and then made a beckoning gesture; she was not looking forward to this. “Send him in.”

A smaller man of Asian descent, wielding a briefcase, made an appearance and quickly took the chair opposite Lindy's desk, gracing her with nervous smile. “The Democratic People's Republic of Korea wishes to welcome you, Admiral Lindy Harlaown, and your expedition to Earth!”

“Choi Chin, but you may simply call me Chin,” he offered, nodding his head in a small bow.

“Well, thank you for your warm greeting, Mr. Chin,” she replied, keeping her professional decorum. She knew what this would all be about; she was well acquainted with Earth countries, and the positions they'd take. That was just diplomacy 101: research all the angles and agendas in advance.

“Just Chin is fine,” he corrected, still maintaining his smile, but seemingly growing more confident. “And I have been authorized to extend an invitation for you and your entourage to visit our great country. I am sure we have much to offer each other!”

Lindy inwardly sighed; this wasn't going to be a fun meeting.

x~~*~~x

Suzuka took a light sip from her beer glass, taking care not to get too inebriated, as Arisa launched into her rendition of “Do You Remember Love?” inside the small karaoke room. Of course, there were spells to help her mind remain clear from the intoxicating effects of alcohol, but they could only do so much. Especially since her magic level wasn't very high to begin with.

Slipping out of the embassy compound without the protestors outside realizing it, was fairly easy. A little misdirection spell, coupled with a little transformation magic to hide their appearance, and they were all set to go. The protestors themselves were to be expected; ever since the Bureau had set up shop, they had been there, telling the “aliens” to go home. Fortunately, they appeared to be few in number still, although there were various groups around the world making their displeasure known. And there were at least an equal number of just-as-vocal groups who supported Earth's new visitors.

Vice set his mug down and belched, earning an elbow from Alto. “Ow! Come on, Alto, loosen up! This is supposed to be a party!”And this stuff is good. You should try some!

She eyed him suspiciously. “Are you sure your detox spell is in effect?”

He leaned back against the couch, smiling assuredly. “It also numbs the buzz, and that defeats the purpose of drinking. Wouldn't you agree, Suzuka?”

She smiled. “Well, Arisa-chan and I have gone out drinking more than once, before we came to the Bureau, and I admit I did miss it; Mid-Childa doesn't have much in the way of real alcohol unless you go into the seedier parts of town. How about you, Otto?”

Otto was merely glancing at the yellow-ish frothy glass. “It has a unique taste, but as a cyborg, my body does a good job automatically dealing with toxins. As a result, it doesn't do much for me.”

Arisa had raised her voice during the conversation, perhaps under the impression she was being ignored. But Suzuka noted her friend had finished strong enough and clapped until Arisa bowed and took her seat beside the purple-haired girl.

“I noticed you didn't go for the English songs from that series,” Suzuka teased, lips turning up into a smirk.

“You know I prefer the original Japanese in all my anime!” Arisa shot back in mock anger. “Don't you dare try to fling that English-dubbed crap at me. I can speak and understand perfect English, and it always loses a lot in translation.”

“Hey, it's not too bad sometimes,” Suzuka argued, picking up the song selection tablet. “And sometimes it's better. I could show you some-”

“I believe it is Alto's turn, from the order we agreed on,” Otto stated.

All eyes turned to the shortest woman of the group, who reddened slightly. “I don't think-”

Vice slapped her on the back. “Aw, come on! Remember what I told you about loosening up? And if you don't sing...” An evil look appeared in his eye as he turned to the three women on the other side of the table. “Say, did I ever tell you guys about Alto and the toilet incid-oof!”

Alto removed her elbow from Vice's gut. “We agreed to never mention that again.” She sighed, and accepted the song selection tablet from Suzuka. “Fine, let me find something...”

x~~*~~x

“I warn you not to underestimate the Democratic People's Republic of Korea!” Chin haughtily tossed out, shortly before exiting through the door.

“Have a nice day!” Lindy offered with a pleasant voice as the North Korean diplomat was escorted out. The smile disappeared and she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as soon as he was gone.

“Well then, how did that go?” General Adams inquired in an amused tone that indicated he already knew the answer.

Lindy opened her eyes to see him setting down a small tray with a pair of cups and a large thermos. “You already know. They want our technology, or at least to not give anything to anyone else. I told him we could help, but only if they opened up their country and government. And gave their people better rights, and cease their efforts to develop nuclear weapons.”

“All things the other countries of Earth have been trying to get it to do for a long while now,” the General added with a grin, filling the cups with tea from the thermos.

Lindy sighed again as she accepted her cup of tea, then her brow furrowed and she frowned in mild vexation. “General...”

“Hmmm?”

“Where are the milk and sugar?”

“...”

x~~*~~x

“Are you sure you're going to be okay?” Arisa inquired as Alto helped Vice out of the small van. Though it was her responsibility to look after the well-being of her team, she also asked because they were her friends, too.

“Yes, I'll get him to his room,” the smaller woman insisted as she draped an arm of the inebriated man over her shoulders.

Arisa raised an eyebrow, catching the dark look that flashed across Alto's face for a second, and then sighed as the two made their way off towards the parking garage elevator. However, her attention as quickly diverted as Suzuka brushed by her without a word.

“Hey, Suzuka-chan, are you alright?” Arisa asked, concerned.

A half-hearted wave and a “Yeah, I'm fine,” were the only responses she got.

Arisa debated going after her, and she reasoned that Suzuka just needed some sleep, like the rest of them. Hopefully the small incident earlier didn't bother her too much. In the end, Arisa decided that if Suzuka was still put out tomorrow, they could have another conversation. It was too late to do anything about it tonight.

x~~*~~x

The purple-haired device-and-golem technician yawned as she walked down the hallway, heading towards her bedroom in the embassy. Suzuka could have gone to her family home instead, but there was no one there at the moment. Her parents had died when she was very young, and Shinobu was currently away with both Noel and Farin, their two maids. The latter was usually Suzuka's personal maid, but Suzuka had directed her to serve Shinobu while her normal master was away on Mid-Childa. However, that thought did remind her of the letter in her pocket, which she hastily opened and scanned.

Suzuka,

I hope this letter finds you well. Forgive me for not being there, but business keeps me away at the moment. I will send Farin back to you in the next several days, however. She is eager to see you again.

Sincerely,
Shinobu Takamachi

[That's it?] Suzuka thought incredulously. [She doesn't return my calls and letters at all, and this is all I get when I finally get back?] She sighed and reached up to scratch the kitten on her shoulder. “Is this confusing to you, too, Whiskers?”

The black kitten pretended to listen, but mainly purred as it accepted its master's attention. Despite the feline's reassurance, it didn't do much for Suzuka's mood, which was already a bit sour from earlier, and now she just wanted to get some sleep.

An explosion across the street at a closed bank, caught the small group's attention as they walked back from from the karaoke bar to their small van. Three people that Suzuka identified as robbers, promptly emerged from the smoke of the improvised opening and began sprinting towards a vehicle. She tensed, preparing to go after them, when she felt a hand on her arm. Angrily, she followed the arm up to its owner.

“We can't,” Arisa stated firmly, yet with empathy in her tone. “I want to as well, but we can't draw attention to ourselves. One condition of this outing was that we keep a low profile. We have to let the police handle it.”

Suzuka wanted to say something, but sirens were already sounding in the distance, and shortly after the getaway car sped off, several police cars surrounded the bank, while others took off down the street the way the burglars had gone.

She should have realized things would be different, now that she was a member of the Bureau. But it still left a bad taste in her mouth; she had joined by because she wanted to make a difference, and now she had just discovered that she couldn't help her home planet, let alone her home country.

So caught up in her thoughts, that she she almost didn't register one of the male enforcers pass her in the hallway “Oh, Ms. Tsukimura, we found your last item and delivered it to your workshop.”

She tiredly waved at him and mumbled a tired, “Mmm, thanks.”

A minute later, it finally hit her. [Wait, last item? I already had everything set up in my lab!]

She spun to question the enforcer, but he had disappeared. Curious, she continued on and activated the lights in her workshop, easily finding the large rectangular box near the center table. It didn't look like anything she had packed before coming here, so it couldn't have been something she forgot about. And her own checklist had confirmed that she had received everything that had come along on the Ventek.

She found the lock on the side and prodded it, which popped up a holographic screen bearing some text, after a short screen confirmed her DNA and magic signature.

Suzuka,

You've been an excellent student, and I was proud to teach you these past couple of years. You've picked up almost everything you need to know, and I feel confident you'll do a great job in your new assignment. Consider this my graduation gift to you, and a bit of a request. Due to my new duties, I am unable progress on this project, and so I entrust our special child to you. Don't hesitate to call if you have any questions!

Take care,
Shari Finieno

The letter promptly changed to a different screen, as data scrawled rapidly across the screen. Suzuka's eyes widened as she quickly figured out what the box must have contained.

“Whiskers, save data and backup to internal hard drive,” she spoke, and the kitten quickly came alive, staring at the screen as the data scrawl mirrored itself on the feline's retinas.

[So that's why...] Suzuka realized as the output of data came to a stop.

Her fingers quickly tapped in the security code and the box swung open, revealing the item inside. It appeared deactivated for the moment, and Suzuka sat down in a nearby chair while studying it, reflecting on its various functions while wondering what to do with it. Tapping her chin thoughtfully, several ideas came to mind.

She smiled. [Yes, that might work...]

Xx~~*~~xX

Author's notes:

For those who don't know, Alto's toilet incident was referred to once before, in one of the sound stages. It was never stated exactly what happened, just as something ALto doesn't want people to talk about, heh. Anyway, this week we get a short rundown on Otto's unit:

Golem: Andro
Pilot: Otto
Based on: Abyss Gundam from Gundam Seed Destiny
Capabilities: The slowest golem, but with the heaviest defenses. This unit was specially altered to take advantage of the pilot's unique IS capabilities: force barrier projection, and Ray Storm energy blasts. The former allows Otto to shield both the golem, and other targets, protecting against any attack. Both abilities are amplified by the magical battery, greatly increasing their effectiveness. The golem possesses one other capability: it can fold up into itself, the arm pontoons encasing the main body in a shell, transforming into a submersible which can withstand great pressures with ease. Originally designed for deep-water exploration, and for journeying into other high-pressure locations.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to MGLN StrikerS, whether it is the anime, manga or sound stage.
---

Darkhalo: Welcome all of you to the extra part of this story. I have received four questions from all of you so I will be answering them now. There will also be two outtakes to show how Kiran's character and the plot have changed.

Kiran: Oh yes! Finally it's over. You people have no idea how hard it is to act for this guy. Aside from the major changes he kept doing overnight, the script could change on the day of shooting itself!

Darkhalo: Gah! How are you talking? And what is wrong with you? I didn't ask for any acting, I just put the whole text on the site.

Kiran: Why can't I? I've materialised from your imaginations and come to make this omake less boring!

Darkhalo: Ok… Then explain why you were talking about acting when I didn't do a video.

Kiran: Yes you did! There were so many special effects people and *rambles on*.

Darkhalo: You are messed up… I'm going to ignore that part and head to the questions.

Kiran: Fine, ignore me then. However, I'm surprised that nobody asked what happened to Watch when I formed an ice sword.

Darkhalo: I guess they know that he transforms along with your hand.

Kiran: Wha? Are they psychic? While I screw my mind over that, we have three questions from MegaRaziel. Firstly, Kiran is something more like an esper?

Darkhalo: A what?

Kiran: Oh, you don't know what an esper is. Let me ask him what it is. (I PMed him)

His given definition is like the people who have eaten the devil fruit in One Piece, with some strain on the body most of the time but have greater and stronger moves.

Darkhalo: While I don't know what a devil fruit does, I can answer with regards to the second part. Taking into account overdrive, cartridge and breaker drain, I guess you could say he is. Some of you may have noticed he has only activated stage one of his overdrive so far. The first outtake will show the effects of stages two and three.

Kiran: Fair enough, here's the next question. How good is he in a hand to hand fight, without powers?

Darkhalo: I guess I forgot to mention that his artificial gravity training is done without relying on his powers. He mentions that 5.5 times gravity is still his limit although the limiter on his elemental core has been released in chapter 8. Although, his limit is what he can withstand for an hour, as stated in chapter 2. His technique will not be the best since he does not have a sparring partner. If I were to rank him according to this with normal gravity, I would say he's about three times faster and stronger than the average fighter if he was conserving his stamina.

Kiran: That's quite a bit of calculations…

Darkhalo: Remember that your powers were halved at the start so to make up for it your physical status would have to be twice as strong. If I'm confusing anybody by placing all these facts into a fanfic I apologise.

Kiran: *Shakes head* Long story short, he's three times better than a normal martial artist. Next question, please don't spew out all your jargon for this one. About the prequel/sequels you're planning, will it still concentrate on Kiran and will it be completely original plot?

Darkhalo: Your personality is completely different from the one in the story… The prequel won't come out anymore, the explanation is at the bottom. For the sequel, Kiran will still be in it but I'll try to focus on some of the canon characters as well.

For the plot, the timeline is set for after StrikerS and before SSX. Since there's no canon material regarding the characters involved it will be completely original (I hope nobody has done a similar story).

Kiran: Moving on, we have one from an anonymous person. Why didn't you upload the chapters as soon as you were done instead of finishing everything and then uploading?

Darkhalo: I've seen many good fanfics completely stop in the middle of the plot and leave the readers hanging. The author then doesn't say when he/she will continue it or moves on and completely forgets about it. Since I detest this behaviour I will complete the whole story before letting anybody read. This way if I get bored of it I can just upload everything in one shot, allowing me to move on and satisfy the readers.

Kiran: Now that we've done the question and answer section, here are the outtakes.

Darkhalo: That's right. Originally I planned for Kiran to be "emotionally normal". That means that the there are some twists to the events in the epilogue and Kiran had not unlocked stage three yet.

Kiran: Nove and Wendi fans may want to look away…
---

'She's fleeing? I don't know where she's going but I don't like it.' Watch loaded a cartridge and Kiran managed to form an ice sword while still retaining his water jets. Ni was starting to gain altitude and soon would be out of his reach. Rebounding off a wall, he managed to get to the same level as her and took a swipe. As he just missed her, she turned around and swung back, impacting his guard and put some distance between them. She then took off again while Kiran tried to follow her.

Ni saw that Kiran was actually gaining on her and released half of her Burst Ignition. She tried to lose him by flying over a river but he managed to cross it, albeit barely. She couldn't go any higher or it would be hard to breathe. Growling in frustration, she put in a burst of speed, hoping that raw speed would do the trick.

She finally reached the underground site and saw Subaru going berserk and clashing with Nove. Kiran arrived a few seconds later and witnessed Ginga bloodied up in the case and Subaru being sent into a wall. Something within him snapped and streaks of blue appeared in his eyes, followed by a howl of agony. "Elemental core mode 2, overdrive, stage two. Output at 200%."

All of his limbs were coated in ice now and he rushed towards Wendi, only to be blocked by Ni. She unleashed her Burst Ignition as well and managed to halt his advance. "Don't get in my way!.!" could be heard from two sides. Kiran's device started to short itself out, too much energy was flooding his veins. Now his whole eye except for his pupil had changed colour. "Overdrive, stage 3. Output at 1000%."

Kiran's entire body was encased in ice now and he barely knew what was going on. His anger had taken over and only one thought rang in his mind, 'Knock them out, for good.' He swung his sword at Ni who jumped backwards. Her eyes widened when an arc of water burst from the afterimage of the blade.

Ni brought up her Phoenix burst to shield against it but the pressure was too great and it tore her into two as well as leaving a deep gash in the wall behind. "Ginga!" he shouted as he chased Nove and Wendi. Nove turned around and tried to come at him with a left hook but he vanished and appeared at Wendi's side.

"So you think it's funny to beat up someone?.!" Her mind barely registered the statement when his knees slammed into her spine and ribcage, sped up with steam jets bursting all over his leg. Her bones were shattered upon impact. She would have screamed in pain but Kiran pulverised her brain by striking her head with two ice cannons.

"Wendi!.!" cried Nove as she saw a blur, followed with a decapitated Wendi. "You'll pay for that!.!" she screamed while she dashed forward with her left fist posed to strike.

"Don't you learn?.!" he yelled as he gripped her fist with his left hand, pulled her in, stomped her foot with his right foot and used his left knee to crash into her armpit. The impact ripped her arm out of its socket and nearly tore it off entirely. He then released his grip and she fell towards the ground. That is, until his left hand formed an ice sword and stabbed her right through the heart.

He was about to deform the blade and let her drop to the ground when he heard Subaru's cry of despair. His berserker rage suddenly vanished and he could see what he had just done clearly. His eyes widened at what had happened to the two combat cyborgs. He wasn't sure about Wendi, but he definitely had something to do with Nove. Pushing down the images with great difficulty, he cut off the chains holding the case Ginga was in and flew back to Subaru.

"Subaru!" exclaimed Teana when Nanoha brought her in. She was still crying into the distance and her blood had created a pool on the floor. Nanoha placed Teana down as she worriedly ran to her partner. Hearing some shuttering in the distance, she held Raising Heart up and prepared thirty two Axel Shooters. Suddenly the noise was replaced by an explosion and a body flew towards her.

She barely had enough time to identify who it was and put up a Holding Net instead of firing all the Axel Shooters. In the net was Kiran, back to his human appearance. The flesh on his legs were nearly gone and his left arm had seen better days but he maintained a tight grip on the case. He had used them so much in stage three that the backlash caused a denotation from the bone itself. Barely conscious, he lifted up the case and mumbled, "Captain Takamachi… I'm glad that… you're here to protect them now…" Following that, he passed out, dropping the case onto the floor.
---

Kiran: Wait… I don't remember some parts of this scene…

Darkhalo: I revised it for this section but the plot is unchanged.

Kiran: Then it's not really an outtake, is it?

Darkhalo: The purpose of this was to show that you were not dead inside when I first planned this.

Kiran: Fine, let's show the next one which is the very first one you did. Why is it so close to the end?

Darkhalo: I don't know… The idea for the sequel also started with the end.

Kiran: You are one weird author.

Darkhalo: And you're my creation.

Kiran: …
---

'I don't care what happens to me. I need to protect them!' He then shoved the breaker into his device and let the power surge within him. He felt wings sprouting from his back and took off. With his legs free to attack, he formed them into blades, mimicking those that were his arms. When he was sure that the backlash from the beams would not impact those on the ground, he brought the four swords together and formed a cannon with a diamond shaped hole.

The power struggle was on, Kiran vs the Saint's Cradle.
---

Kiran: Huh? That's it?.?

Darkhalo: That was a far as I thought until I watched the following episodes, which then revealed that I would stray too much from the original events if I continued. I did not revise this at all as I disliked this scene once I changed your character.

Kiran: Fine… Now about your many script changes and my acting…

Darkhalo: Would you stop that about the acting? I still don't get how I'm even conversing with you.

Kiran: *Evil laugh* I'll never tell you!

Darkhalo: Fine, then I'll cut you off by force. *Refuses to type 'Kiran' anymore*

Ok, why isn't the prequel coming out? This is because I decided not to do the whole thing anymore. I don't think it can be called fanfiction if none of the canon characters are inside or none of the canon theories take place so I've abandoned it. However, I will summarise it as the prologue in the sequel.

Well, now that that's out of the way, I thank you all for giving your valuable attention to me. I'll post updates on the sequel at around December. If I actually finish it by then, I'll see how many chapters there are and upload accordingly. Until then, this is farewell. I had fun doing this as a whole and I hope you had fun reading.

(1) Do the Combat Cyborgs inherently generate an AMF, or is it their 'plug suits' that provide the function? I don't recall Subaru having one, hence I'm curious...
(2) Do the Combat Cyborgs have actual organic brains? It's never been made clear whether it is that or really, really advanced AI programming...

__________________

____________________________

Let's see...Yep, still a Hayate fan boy no matter what happens in Force.

Location: Somewhere over the rainbow, in a house dropped on an ugly, old woman.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Insane Inquisitor

Gah, another nasty idea coming into my head, but to confirm...

(1) Do the Combat Cyborgs inherently generate an AMF, or is it their 'plug suits' that provide the function? I don't recall Subaru having one, hence I'm curious...
(2) Do the Combat Cyborgs have actual organic brains? It's never been made clear whether it is that or really, really advanced AI programming...

(1) Nope. Some, like Cinque and Otto, have a coat that has AMF properties, but none of them have it inherently.

(2) They are human, so they have fleshy brains. They just have cybernetic parts. Of course, some of them may have such parts in their brain as well, but we don't know.

It was early morning, too early for anyone who had spent most of the previous night up because they were too excited to go to sleep.

So, when Vivio's alarm went off, she let out a yell and fell out of bed with a loud thump.

"Owwww... Gee, what time is it?" Vivio groaned as she rubbed her head and stared. "Gah! I better hurry or I'll be late!"

After all, she wouldn't want to be late for her fourth year in elementary school!

(---)

Downstairs, Nanoha chuckled softly as she heard her daughter crash into the floor. "That girl..."

"Reminds me of you when you were her age." Nanoha looked over at Miyuki and pouted softly. "What? You were always running around early in the morning trying to get stuff done as soon as possible." Miyuki snickered softly. "Especially when you and mom went to the park to practice your magic."

Nanoha rolled her eyes as she finished making breakfast. "I seem to recall that you were really jealous that you couldn't be a magical girl when you found out about magic." She ignored the way Miyuki stuck her tongue out at her. "Anyway, you can't blame her for being excited. Not with Ixpellia taking some classes with her."

It wasn't like the former king needed any schooling, she was smart enough to do anything she wanted in life, but being alive for over a thousand years, but asleep for most of that time, left huge gaps in what she knew. Besides, Ixepllia just wanted to be treated like a normal person and make some friends of her own.

The fact that she was going to be in some of the same classes Vivio was going to be in was just a small bonus after all.

Now if only Yuuno and Fate were there this morning. Oh well, they'd be around in the afternoon.

(---)

Elsewhere...

Nove yawned as she finished up her breakfast. "Thanks mom." Quint smiled at her. "If you don't mind, I'm going to hang out at the gym today." Nove gulped at the look Quint gave her.

"What? Afraid your mother will beat you in sparring again?"

Nove shook her head, while she was confident with her abilities, Quint still knew more about Strike Arts than she did. Besides, she just had a hard time going all out against Quint.

Ginga or Subaru on the other hand, she had no problems going all out and leaving bruises all over their bodies.

"Not that, mom, sheesh, I'm just going to go down and do some light exercise, maybe knock some wimps around, spar with Vivio, you know, the usual."

"Didn't school start today?" A new voice piped up and Nove blinked as she looked at Slyph. "I mean, Vivio was talking about it all last week how she couldn't wait for school to start up again."

Nove narrowed her eyes and groaned. "I almost forgot about that, thanks, Slyph." The small unison device blushed and looked away. "We need to work on your shyness."

Quint shook her head. "Anyway, Nove," she turned back to the stove as she worked on cooking more food, "you're going to have more free time for a few months, do you have anything you want to do in mind?"

"Actually..." Nove trailed off, closing her eyes as she thought about what Cinque had told her a few days ago, "you hear about the martial artists that are getting beaten up at night?" Quint nodded after giving it some thought, "well, I was thinking about going on patrol and seeing if I could take this person down."

Quint looked at Nove with a raised eyebrow. "Do you have any idea who it is?"

Nove shook her head, "I have some ideas, but nothing concrete." She had heard that the person doing this was using Belkan as a magic system, which did nothing to limit down the choices, since most people who used melee used Belkan magic. "About the only thing I know is that the person wears a mask over their face.

Quint frowned softly at that. "You don't think..." She was almost certain Ixpellia couldn't create any more of those Mariage creatures, but the thought still lingered in the back of her mind.

"No. Ixy might not mind two people sparring for fun, but she hates conflict if it's not needed." Nove was certain that Ixpellia wasn't making Mariage again, especially since the former king said that she would rather sleep for the rest of time than create those things again. "By the way, what was decided about Ixy? I never heard."

"Well, so long as she's not capable of creating those Mariages, or at least, so long as she never makes them again, the worst she has to deal with is constant monitoring by the Bureau."

"So... Like Tre and Due then?" Nove blinked as Quint nodded. "...Why?"

"Well, let's say she does get her ability to make those Mariage again... It would be pretty dangerous."

Nove narrowed her eyes at that. "Mom, the entire Bureau is made up of people who are very dangerous. I don't know if you know this, but Nanoha Takamachi's entire family is made up of people who could lay waste to this city and everyone on this planet in less than a minute if they wanted to. Just because Ixpellia couldn't control her Mariage doesn't mean that she should be punished for it forever."

Quint nodded at that. "Oh, don't get me wrong, Nove, there were plenty of arguments just like that at the hearing. But, she won't be punished forever. As it stands, considering the Mazoku involvement in this case, the monitoring is to make sure that she doesn't fall pretty to their influence again."

"Again?" Nove raised an eyebrow at Quint. "Mom, Ixy was never possessed."

"Doesn't mean that she wasn't influenced by a Mazoku," Quint narrowed her eyes at Nove, "even if she was never directly affected by a Mazoku, you don't need to broadcast that to everyone." Nove blinked in obvious confusion. "Even if the truth was that Ixpellia had no contact with a Mazoku, the fact remains that a Mazoku was behind the most recent incident. I don't know how much the judges know about all the details, but I do know that any judgement on Ixpellia and Runessa is much lighter than what it would be normally because of the Mazoku influence."

Nove sighed and nodded at that. "Got'cha."

Slyph blinked as she held up a hand. When Quint looked at her, she fidgeted slightly. "Um... We're lying about this then?"

"Not lying, more like, we're just not telling the full story," Quint looked at Slyph curiously, "why?"

"Okay." Slyph didn't understand why they wouldn't tell the full story, but if they weren't going to, why would she bother to tell anyone about it?

"Anyway, Nove, if you're not going to be busy until later, could you watch the twins?" Quint smirked at Nove's grimace. "Just until this afternoon, I need to get some extra work done and your father won't be around until late this afternoon. Besides, when you're done, you can go meet up with Vivio and her friends at the gym."

"Gee, thanks mom." Nove said dryly as Quint smiled at her. Oh well, she didn't mind Cecilia and Aston, they were decent kids most of the time. It was just that sometimes they decided to be like total brats and were almost uncontrollable.

At least, Nove thought so, how Quint could get them to calm down so fast was something she would never know.

(---)

It was nearly an hour later, after Quint and Slyph had both left that Nove got a call from Wendi.

"Hey, Nove!" Wendi smiled at the shorter redhead. "Dieci and I were going to hit the mall today, can you make it?"

Nove shook her head. "Sorry, got the twins today." Her eyes widened as two small balls of energy slammed into her legs and caused her to fall onto her butt. "Gah! Aston! Cecilia!" She glared at the twins as they giggled at her. "Did you have to do that?"

Wendi snapped her fingers and pouted. "Drat. Dieci and I were going to go looking for cute guys, maybe get some new clothes and see a movie. Besides, I need a new swimsuit, my last one's worn out."

Nove rolled her eyes at Wendi. "Well, if you used it for swimming or sunbathing rather than jogging around in it, you wouldn't wear it out so fast." Didn't Wendi realize that her breasts bounced too much in those swimsuits and wore them out faster?

Wendi shrugged at Nove as the other redhead stood up. "Yeah, well, it's too bad, I wouldn't have minded seeing you in a swimsuit a couple sizes too small." Her eyes sparkled as she giggled and wiggled her fingers. "Hee hee... Nove in a small bikini."

"Gah! Knock it off!" Nove yelled at the screen as she turned it off. "Really, what is up with her?" She didn't think she'd ever understand Wendi.

Then again, despite Wendi doing stuff to embarrass her, Nove couldn't help but like the excitable redhead. After all, Wendi wasn't a bad girl, just weird.